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1. Background
For a long time relationship between information system functions and corporate strategywas not of much interest to Top Management of firms. Information Systems were thought to besynonymous with corporate data processing and treated as some back-room operation in support of day-to-day mundane tasks (Rockart, 1979). In the 80’s and 90’s, however, there has been agrowing realization of the need to make information systems of strategic importance to anorganization. Consequently, strategic information systems planning (SISP) is a critical issue. Inmany industry surveys, improved SISP is often mentioned as the most serious challenge facing ISmanagers (Pavri and Ang, 1995, Beath and Orlikowski, 1994; Martin, 1993; Porter and Miller,1985).Planning for information systems, as for any other system, begins with the identification of needs. In order to be effective, development of any type of computer-based system should be aresponse to need--whether at the transaction processing level or at the more complex information andsupport systems levels. Such planning for information systems is much like strategic planning inmanagement. Objectives, priorities, and authorization for information systems projects need to beformalized. The systems development plan should identify specific projects slated for the future,priorities for each project and for resources, general procedures, and constraints for each applicationarea. The plan must be specific enough to enable understanding of each application and to knowwhere it stands in the order of development. Also the plan should be flexible so that priorities can beadjusted if necessary. King (King, 1995) in his recent article has argued that a strategic capabilityarchitecture - a flexible and continuously improving infrastructure of organizational capabilities - isthe primary basis for a company's sustainable competitive advantage. He has emphasized the needfor continuously updating and improving the strategic capabilities architecture.SISP is the analysis of a corporation’s information and processes using business informationmodels together with the evaluation of risk, current needs and requirements. The result is an actionplan showing the desired course of events necessary to align information use and needs with thestrategic direction of the company (Battaglia, 1991). The same article emphasizes the need to notethat SISP is a management function and not a technical one. This is consistent with the earlierdistinction between the older data processing views and the modern strategic importance view of Information Systems. SISP thus is used to identify the best targets for purchasing and installingnew management information systems and help an organization maximize the return on itsinformation technology investment. A portfolio of computer-based applications is identified that willassist an organization in executing its business plans and realize its business goals. There is agrowing realization that the application of information technology (IT) to a firm’s strategic activitieshas been one of the most common and effective ways to improve business performance.
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